According to officials from the BMACH, urban infrastructure development will continue in the buffer zone provided it conforms to the policy of preserving, as much as possible, the look and feel of old Beijing.

While protecting siheyuan courtyards and hutong lanes, the government has pledged money and efforts to renovate heating and drainage systems in the buffer zone. However, the work will be done on a house-by-house basis, while also strengthening daily maintenance of the houses. In this way, it is anticipated that a thorough renovation of all buildings will be completed within 20 to 25 years.

Under UNESCO rules, a buffer zone is a must for any listed site. However, no buffer zone was designated for the Forbidden City when it was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1987 as the largest and best-preserved palace complex in the world, along with the Great Wall, the Mogao Caves, terracotta warriors at the Mausoleum of the Emperor Qinshihuang, the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.), Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian in suburban Beijing and Taishan (mountains).

According to Kong Fanzhi, Deputy Director of the BMACH, this was because China had acceded to the World Heritage Convention just two years before, in 1985. As a new signatory to the convention, and as a privilege, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee added China's sites to the list without inspections.

Kong added that despite the fact there was no officially designated buffer zone to protect the Forbidden City, the traditional environs have been preserved under relevant laws and regulations. For example, a scheme launched in 2002 prescribed a restriction area for construction to better protect the Imperial City.

Kong said the Forbidden City has long had a buffer zone in a sense. The proposal of a formal buffer zone to the World Heritage Committee is more significant in that it exemplifies China's efforts to adapt to international cultural heritage protection practices.

Highlighting heritage protection

The protected area of the Three Parallel Rivers in south China's Yunnan Province, a site inscribed in 2003, was a great concern at this year's World Heritage Committee conference, during which the Chinese delegation made it clear that it should not be listed as an endangered heritage site.

According to Wang Fengwu, an official with the Ministry of Construction, concern over the protection of the Three Parallel Rivers arose due to reports by non-governmental organizations and media outlets saying that China would build hydraulic power stations within the site.

The World Heritage Committee had called for an evaluation of the site during this year's session and is planning to dispatch experts to inspect the area next year.

Wang said that no dam projects, including hydropower stations, within the site or in the buffer zone around it have been approved by the Chinese Government.

Lying in the mountainous northwest of Yunnan Province, the 1.7-million-hectare site of the Three Parallel Rivers features sections of the upper reaches of three of Asia's great rivers: the Yangtze (Jinsha), Mekong and Salween, which run roughly parallel, north to south. The site is one of the richest temperate regions of the world and an epicenter of biodiversity.

The World Heritage Committee discusses problems in the protection of heritage sites every year. The sites that are believed to be highly endangered will be put on the World Heritage in Danger List. It is the second time the committee has asked for an evaluation of the Three Parallel Rivers site. At present, there are 33 sites on the endangered heritage list, all of which urgently need proper protection.

Wang Fengwu said it usually takes more than 10 years, even several decades for a hydropower project to go through all the necessary procedures, from planning and a feasibility study to final approval. The intended projects revealed by some media are merely the wishful thinking of some hydropower companies, which will never become reality, he added.

Wang said the Chinese delegation sorted out the issue during the session, and added that China welcomes the World Heritage Committee and World Conservation Union experts to Yunnan to make their own judgments through on-site inspections.

According to Wang Yong, Deputy Director of the Energy Bureau under the Yunnan Development and Reform Commission, Yunnan, a province endowed with rich hydropower resources and remarkable biodiversity, adheres to the principle of placing equal importance on resource exploitation and environmental protection. He said the Three Parallel Rivers, Yunnan's world-class attraction, will be given top priority.

The two officials also said that world heritage sites should not be turned into no-man's-land, nor is it rational to leave the resources at these sites completely untapped. They added that instead of putting so much emphasis on protection that it hinders local economic development, the aim should be to strike a balance between development and protection, bringing about a win-win result.

At present, China has 31 World Heritage sites, none of which is in the World Heritage in Danger List.

Newly proposed sites

According to Zhang Bai, Deputy Director of the NACH, China has submitted formal applications to the World Heritage Committee for the Yin Ruins in central China's Henan Province and the giant panda habitat in Sichuan Province, to be listed as World Cultural Heritage and World Natural Heritage sites respectively. The committee has accepted both places and will assess them during its 30th session next year in Vilnius, capital of Lithuania.

The Yin Ruins, which are the ruins of the slavery Shang Dynasty dating back over 3,300 years, are close to Xiaotun Village, northwest of Anyang City in Henan. Covering an area of 24 square km, they represent the earliest traces of an ancient Chinese capital in recorded history.

Dubbed "living fossils," giant pandas are an endangered species that only live in China. The giant panda habitat in Sichuan lies between two rivers, Daduhe and Minjiang, covering an area of some 9,510 square km, with a 5,370 square km core region. The habitat is considered of great value to biodiversity protection.